Towers and his colleagues Ingrid Visser, PhD, of the Orca Research Trust in New Zealand, and Vanessa Prigollini, of the Marine Education Association in La Paz, Mexico, collected and analyzed information about 34 incidents of food sharing that they and others had experienced. On 11 of the occasions, the people were in the water when the orcas approached them, in 21 cases they were on boats, and in two cases they were on the shore. Some were captured on video and in photos, others were described in interviews with the researchers., Why do killer whales keep handing us fish? Scientists unpack the mystery Sharing prey suggests orcas may want to explore interactions with humans. Date: July 2, 2025 Source: American Psychological , They also often hunt prey much larger than themselves, and thus sometimes have food to spare. “Offering items to humans could simultaneously include opportunities for killer whales to practice learned cultural behavior, explore, or play and in so doing learn about, manipulate, or develop relationships with us,” the researchers wrote..